Technology
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A school on Google Maps has had its name changed by a disgruntled student as a prank.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Hornsea School and Language College in East Yorkshire, England, was briefly changed to read "Hornsea Prison & Hell on Earth" in an act that would have had to have been approved by the school's administrator.
The prank is believed to have been done by a pupil at the school. All you have to do is submit a name change to Google in order to get it updated. However, the change does have to be approved by the business owner, leaving open the possibility that this was an inside job.
"We recommend that all schools take ownership of their Google map icon to prevent any copy-cat behaviours," head teacher Steve Ostler told BBC News, either condemning the student or trying to throw people off the scent.
"Overall, allowing users to suggest edits provides comprehensive and up-to-date info, but we recognise there may be occasional inaccuracies or bad edits suggested by them," Google told Business Insider, responding to a similar problem last year.
"When this happens, we do our best to address the issue as quickly as possible."
This isn't the only Google Maps school-related blunder this year. Whether intentionally put up for satellites to see, or just done as a joke for people on the ground, a school in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is host to a giant drawing of a penis. It's still there to see in all its glory on Google Maps.
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